AN ARCTIC LINER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 190, 14 August 1939, Page 5

AN ARCTIC LINER.

NEW RUSSIAN SHIP. ["INSULATED" AGAINST COLD. REMARKABLE FEATURES. (Special.—By Air Mail.) AMSTERDAM, July 22. i Xearing completion in a Dutch ship- , yard is one of the most remarkable ' vessels ever to be built —a passenger and cargo liner of 10.000 tons specially [[designed for the Arctic. Ordered by I Soviet Russia and named the Josif "iStalin. the liner will open up regular j!passenger and cargo services in the Arc|tic regions, and has been specially built jin order to combat the extreme temperature conditions which will be es- ' pcrienced in those regions. The Josif Stalin is nearly oOOft in - length, and she will have two hulls or J skins" —one inside the other. Between jthem special insulating material will be 'placed to keep out the extreme cold of the Arctic ser<s. In this way passengers ■will be unaware that they are travelling through seas infested with ice and in a .(temperature that is often below freezing point. The Josif Stalin will also be one of the fastest vessels of her type afloat. There is a sister ship also under 1 construction at the same yard. When they are both in service these | remarkable vessels w-ill maintain regular services through the White Sea, as ! well as other Arctic oceans. ' Their machinery will give them a : speed greatly in excess of 20 knots. jlThis is an exceptionally high speed L when it is realised that there are very I few British passenger and cargo liners afloat which can exceed 17 knots. l| They will be propelled by steam and ijelectricity—a method of propulsion which is still in its infancy for use at isea.